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A small w-shaped mark above a letter, doubling it.
Also known as: Tashdid, Arabic gemination mark, Doubling mark, Small w above a letter
The shadda marks a doubled consonant, and in Arabic that doubling changes meaning — the same three letters with and without a shadda are different words. It is one of the diacritics most often retained even in text that otherwise omits vowel marks, precisely because it is not recoverable from context.
Denotes gemination in Arabic: the consonant it sits above is pronounced doubled.
Contexts: Software
Changes lexical meaning rather than only pronunciation, so its omission can make a word ambiguous in a way most other diacritics do not.
Contexts: Software
Is commonly retained in text that otherwise omits vowel marks, alongside the hamza, for exactly that reason.
Contexts: Software
Combines with a vowel mark, which is written above or below it rather than on the base letter.
Contexts: Software
A small mark resembling a rounded w or a flattened omega, placed directly above an Arabic letter.